You never see them coming.Most of the time, you settle into feeling that having a small baby is just part of your new normal. You have less free time and have to carry tons of stuff everywhere and better get over any aversions to poop real fast, but it’s still your normal life. Just with an extra 9.5 lbs to think about.But then these moments catch you off-guard. You’ll stare into her eyes like you always do, and she’ll stare back like she always does, but this time there’s just a little bit more to it. There’s a little glimmer, a little more than there was yesterday, a little hint that all the gears inside that tiny head are working harder and faster by the day. She’s learning, she’s developing. She recognizes you.Is Claire going to crawl soon? Is she ever going to walk or speak or grab toys? I can’t wrap my head around it. The very fact that she looked up and saw a familiar face completely blindsided me. I can’t imagine she’ll ever be bigger than 9.5 lbs. The nose will always be that shape. The toes will always be that small.So that’s where I’m at right now and I’m not eager to grow out of it. I would love to blog more and share more thoughts and ideas but after seven weeks I’m still not ready to do anything but stare at her in wonder and amazement. Claire doesn't make me want to write. Claire makes me want to lose myself in those tiny blue eyes.Hopefully I’ll write more often but that’s about all I’ve got in me at the moment. So to fill the empty word space I’ll just list all of the nicknames that I’ve given Claire so far. Feel free to add any new suggestions into the comments. We are a nickname family.Claire BearClaire-O-RamaClarezillaClaire MonsterMonkeyMonster ButtMonkey ButtButt-ButtMarshmallowMalvavisca (Spanish for Marshmallow)Gotta go. It’s Tummy Time.